Scottish Society newsletter: No 158 – January 2018

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Welcome to our first newsletter of 2018. The New Year is always a time to look forward and I’m pleased to announce that we already have plans for a busy year ahead, with a wide range of events planned in Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirling and Glasgow. Keep an eye on the Scottish Society pages on the CIOL website for further details, also listed here in the newsletter. Voting is open to elect four new members to the CIOL Council, so please take some time to read the candidate statements and cast your vote.

Paul Kearns MCIL CL, Chair

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2018 upcoming events

Languages. Lost? Found?
Friday 17 February, Dundee

Marion Spöring will focus on cross-sector initiatives in promoting and sustaining language learning in Scotland.

A visual world – research on sign language
Saturday 19 May, Edinburgh

Professor Jemina Napier FCIL from Heriot-Watt University will give a presentation on British Sign Language.

Stirling event
Saturday 29 September, Stirling

This event will have two presentations. Alba Sort will run a workshop entitled 'Social Media for Linguists'. Dr Anne Stokes will give a presentation on dealing with translation in occupied Germany, 1945–1949.

Glasgow event & AGM
Saturday 17 November, Glasgow

Andrew O'Halloran from Annan Academy will give a presentation on Gaelic which will include an interactive session. This will be followed by the Society's AGM.

Other events in Scotland

'How to keep your head (firmly) in the Cloud – exciting free technology for translators explored'
When: Saturday 17 March 2018
Time: 10:00am-12:30pm
More information

Summer Workshop Melrose 2018
When: Friday 6 - Sunday 3 June 2018
Time: All day
More information

Continuing Professional Development

The Scottish Society can provide proof of attendance at a CPD event if requested. If you are interested, please talk to Paul Kearns, Chair, or Marjorie MacRae, Treasurer, at the meeting. We are sorry but any requests made after the event cannot be fulfilled.

Why not join us on Twitter?

The Scottish Society now has more than 430 followers. We regularly tweet about the latest trends and events in the language industry, as well as updates from the Committee about Society events. Follow us @CIOLScotland.

Talk on Minority Languages – 25 November 2017
A report by Eneida Garcia Villanueva MCIL CL

On 25 November last year we welcomed Professor Bernadette O’Rourke to our CIOL Scottish Society event in Edinburgh. She is Professor of Sociolinguistics (with Spanish) at Heriot-Watt University. Her research interests focus on the role of language in the construction of social difference and social inequality in multilingual societies and has published widely in this field.

Her presentation 'Who has the authority to speak? – Linguistic intolerance, anonymity and monolingual regimes' was received with interest and enthusiasm both by the audience present and virtually in social networks.

Professor O’Rourke discussed how the definitions of ‘native speaker’, ‘mother tongue’ and ‘linguistic competence’ are all narrowly defined and framed under a monolingual framework.

Do Languages Really Mean Business?

This was the title of a talk given by Professor Paul Bishop FCIL at the CIOL Scottish Society meeting in May 2017. Paul has kindly supplied an article on the talk which discussed how German is currently taught in schools in the UK and the problems with outcomes of the methods used, as identified by Martin Durrell, who famously revised A E Hammer’s German Grammar and Usage (1971). 

Obituary – Mhairi Young ACIL

The year started with the sad news that Mhairi Young ACIL, our effervescent friend and committee colleague, lost her battle with cancer on New Year’s Eve. We will miss her greatly – not only for her committee work in organising our events, but for her contribution to our debate in her inimitable fashion of light hearted banter. Mhairi was one of those people whose life was a series of interesting experiences and events and she was never slow to offer a word of encouragement to both friends and strangers. At her family’s request, we have made a monetary contribution to Target Ovarian Cancer in Mhairi’s name in lieu of flowers.